That is ridiculous! unless you are a klepto why can't they see that you could have easily purchased the ball especially since you actually spent
quite a bit of money in their store? This kind of stuff makes me so angry..

I've laid out the basics of my rant, but to be snatched up out of your life and held in a rubber room, denied a phone call "until I settle down",
which was not an option without my medication, which they refused to dispense, going so far as to offer me tylenol, which would counterdict with other
meds I was on and possilby cause liver damage. And All This, over a #ing baseball, at chinamart.

I have vowed to never set foot in walmart again. Which I have not done,

Sooo, lets see: They even took you to jail over a "theft" of about 5$?
You could see the alternative here in Germany: Thieves with their pockets full of real values are NOT taken to jail, their names and adresses are
noted and thats about it. Usually they have a much longer criminal record, but I don't think that this should exempt one from going to jail.

I like your way better - even if it hit you personally hard, thats for sure! There should be some kind of compromise between these two extremes: Maybe
if your criminal record is extensive, you should go to jail, otherwise (first time thief) not.

this all sucks very much. but heres what you did wrong. you stopped for a guy who works at walmart. drop the ball walk away dont talk they touch?, you
sue.further more walmart cannot prosecute for a theft under 25 dollars.
know your rights or you will be trampled.

They very much DID prosecute, only to be deffered by the court...I am testing them right now, by not complying

to their, pre-trial agreement. We will see if they re-establish the charges against me.

They also prosecuted a local highschool student who stole 6 dollars worth of decorative chain a couple years

ago, loss prevention will have you picked up by local police. Trying to drop the baseball and walk away would only have been an option had I ever
thought they were going to arrest me. I had no clue I was under arrest until the policeman came over to me. I was under the impression that they were
guiding me towards the registers when I was directed by a police officer to step into a room.

Op, I did something similar once. I actually walked out of a store carrying two bras in my hand....I forgot they were there. I walked past the
security guard.

he didn't notice.

So, I tried to take the bras back in to pay for them....and the security guard noticed then. Spent the next half hour explaining the situation.
Luckily, the manager believed me, let me pay, and that was the end of it.

Originally posted by micmerci
That is terrible. I hope your wife did not purchase the other $250 worth of stuff, left the cart where it stood, and told them to shove it where the
sun don't shine.

We had already purchased everything, and yes we left them everything and demanded a refund, which took forever and my poor
wife was so worried about me, she just returned the ice cream and the other refrigerated stuff...it had gone bad in the 1 1/2 that it took for them
to get her the car keys, which were in my pocket.

So, I knew my name was gonna make the local news-paper, if that is what you want to call it.

The paper said, " Blank-ety, blank, age 42 was arrested at 2:30pm for receiving stolen property a class D felony, he is being held in the Blank-ety
County jail with a $4,500.00 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow morning."

A lawyer told me that the law in my state is very iffy when it comes to the line between petty theft(criminal conversion) and felony theft. They could
technically charge you as a felony, I was told, and told again. That is why the news-paper refers to these cases in that manner.

So, now I know that all these times I've ever read about theft, and receiving stolen property in the police blotter, it most likely was just a petty
theft or a mistake, not a felony, with our men in blue coming to the rescue of these victims, just a pack of gum possibly. What a misleading bunch of
cowards the media have become.

Your experience is another example of things being out of control. As much as I hate to say it you just can't trust anything , everyone is literally
out to get you. Make sure you file a complaint with corporate for the gross mishandling of the situation. You can't fight walmart in court but you can
fight the managers through the chain of command. Make sure someones loses their job.

There would not be a "trial", with a jury, as what you did is petty larceny. Most that would happen, you go to court wait your turn for your name to
be called, stand in front of the judge and plead guilty. Likely he/she will let you go for the bail. You won't get that back.

When I worked retail....quite a few times sadly.....It was our stores policy to watch and wait until the person stepped one foot out of the building
and then....boom.....stealing was proclaimed. We had our guys walking through the store watching and yes....profiling "suspicious" customers. If
they saw anything they were told to keep a distant eye but to follow. If the items were not at check out, or if they were not on the receipt, then the
customer was asked to return to the store and that's when it gets all technical and security and police become involved, the camera tapes are
viewed....blah, blah, blah.

This is also the policy at target, because my neighbor got arrested there last summer the moment she stepped foot out the door. The "loss
prevention" guy was right behind her. They took her in, reviewed the tapes and that was it, cops were called.

It doesn't sound like this was the case in your situation......you really need to fight this, I think what the Walmart folks did to you was in a
violation of store policy....I have never worked for Walmart, so I am not familiar with their specific store policy, but I am pretty sure this is true
of most of the big retailers??!!!

Ask to see walmarts store policy! Get a lawyer and fight this one! I wish you the very best and hope you can nail them....keep us posted. That was a
huge injustice and caused you and your family a whole lot financially and emotionally. So sorry, I hate to hear things like this.

In Mississippi where I have lived about 85% of my life, if you fail to follow a court order, a warrant will be issued for your arrest for Contempt of
Court and you will be looking at a minimum of $100 to a max of $1000 and up to 6 months in the county jail and its usually about and $800 fine and 1
to 3 months in jail without a lawyer. With a lawyer the fine might be about $350 to 500 and 6 month probation. I am not a lawyer but me and my friends
have dealt with them enough to know its not about justice and being fair, but to make money for the city and make the community have a false sense of
safety. The municipal court judge in my town has also been my personal lawyer and a family friend for years but when he is wearing the robes and
behind the bench I get no favors. Never do something to show the courts that you are not willing to play ball and make amends even if you have to grit
your teeth and curse to yourself the whole time or you will end up like me and serving a year in the county jail for somethings I honestly didnt do.
By defying them, they "Showed Me" not the other way around.

I think I should kinda clarify my last post. Since you were charged and convicted of the theft. That issue is closed. By failing to complete what the
judge had ordered you will be charged with Contempt of Court so you will have a whole new charge and case. They old charge wont be mentioned in court
only the evidence of you not doing what the judge said and since it will be the same judge that issues the contempt warrant he will already be pissed
at you for not "respecting his Authoriti."

I'm not sure I believe it either.There's no way they prosecute you over a friggin baseball.I should know,I worked in retail my whole life and I've
caught many people stealing small things,especially kids with candy,gum etc.I've caught adults stealing meats,medicines..most were told to pay
up(which they did) and then banned from the store.And if they couldn't pay,then the cops were called.Unless it was over a certain amount they were
just escorted from the store and NOT arrested or prosecuted. I'm not so sure we're getting the full story here,no offense op.It's just not
believable.

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